Terry McDermott
@tmcdermott.bsky.social
Writer, native Iowan, author of books on baseball, terrorism and the brain, veteran of too many newspapers. https://tmcdermott.com
Didn't he say exactly this three months ago?
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that the AI industry must slow the pace of development for new models, citing growing concerns about the “serious” risks to humans. Read more: bloom.bg/46TpjeS
📷: Jason Henry/Bloomberg
📷: Jason Henry/Bloomberg
September 12, 2026 at 7:49 PM
Didn't he say exactly this three months ago?
Do any travel apps work? I booked a flight online on Delta last night for this evening. Internet is great! Was informed this morning in would be two hours late. The whole reason I chose the flight was the time! Went online to re-book, was directed to the Delta app.
September 12, 2026 at 7:48 PM
Do any travel apps work? I booked a flight online on Delta last night for this evening. Internet is great! Was informed this morning in would be two hours late. The whole reason I chose the flight was the time! Went online to re-book, was directed to the Delta app.
JFC UCLA. The US constitution, at least pre-Roberts, guarantees adequate defense for even the most heinous crimes. The defense attorneys at Guantanamo are not defending the crime; they're defending their clients. It's not an easy thing to do. They should be applauded.
The news here is that (1) the UCLA chancellor lacks a basic understanding of how our legal system works, and of the role that criminal defense attorneys play in it, (2) UCLA's commitment to "institutional neutrality" is a joke. www.latimes.com/california/s...
UCLA chancellor rebukes law school event featuring attorney of alleged 9/11 'mastermind'
After a UCLA law school symposium on 9/11 that featured an attorney who represented alleged 9/11 'mastermind' Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk issued a rare message distancing the u...
www.latimes.com
September 12, 2026 at 5:48 PM
JFC UCLA. The US constitution, at least pre-Roberts, guarantees adequate defense for even the most heinous crimes. The defense attorneys at Guantanamo are not defending the crime; they're defending their clients. It's not an easy thing to do. They should be applauded.
I helped the crew who made this moving film about the costs of 9/11, both personal and political. Premieres on CBS tonight.
September 11, 2026 at 2:13 PM
I helped the crew who made this moving film about the costs of 9/11, both personal and political. Premieres on CBS tonight.
On this, the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we are witnessing a kind of national suicide, mostly caused by our reaction to 9/11. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
A Quarter Century of Panic
After 9/11, the U.S. government was over-focused on fighting terrorism, losing sight of other threats. Americans are still living with the consequences.
www.theatlantic.com
September 11, 2026 at 1:07 PM
On this, the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we are witnessing a kind of national suicide, mostly caused by our reaction to 9/11. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
I missed this when it aired, but cool: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfaV...
Phoebe Bridgers: Lost Boys | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
YouTube video by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
www.youtube.com
August 14, 2026 at 9:41 PM
I missed this when it aired, but cool: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfaV...
These Trump tweets are obviously bonkers, but I must admit they contain a kind of mad genius language. I picture Gene Wilder with a crown and scepter delivering the lines while standing on his throne.
Two months ago, tomorrow:
Congratulations to all.
Let the oil flow.
Congratulations to all.
Let the oil flow.
August 13, 2026 at 3:56 PM
These Trump tweets are obviously bonkers, but I must admit they contain a kind of mad genius language. I picture Gene Wilder with a crown and scepter delivering the lines while standing on his throne.
I'm periodically reminded what a great songwriter Lucinda Williams is. This popped up this afternoon. Has anyone - including Sir Bob - ever written a better putdown song? www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e0R...
Broken Butterflies (Album Version)
YouTube video by Lucinda Williams - Topic
www.youtube.com
August 7, 2026 at 11:36 PM
I'm periodically reminded what a great songwriter Lucinda Williams is. This popped up this afternoon. Has anyone - including Sir Bob - ever written a better putdown song? www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e0R...
I didn't know this book existed. So happy to have it introduced to me so eloquently: www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Samuel Beckett’s Proustian moment
The great Irish writer’s first book, an idiosyncratic study of Proust, was also a potent work of modernist literature
www.newstatesman.com
August 6, 2026 at 4:55 PM
I didn't know this book existed. So happy to have it introduced to me so eloquently: www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
We're 65 years into manned space flight. Is it still a matter of luck to get something into orbit? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/s...
For SpaceX, Will the 13th Test Flight of Starship Be Lucky?
www.nytimes.com
July 16, 2026 at 3:08 PM
We're 65 years into manned space flight. Is it still a matter of luck to get something into orbit? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/s...
This, from Adam Sewer, seems like absurd exaggeration, but it's the logical conclusion of Alito's opinion. "In fact, slavery itself could conceivably be race-neutral—after all, one does not need to be a racist to seek cheap labor for a profitable business!" www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Court That Will Believe Absolutely Anything Is ‘Race-Neutral’
The majority gives Trump yet more license to discriminate.
www.theatlantic.com
June 27, 2026 at 10:40 PM
This, from Adam Sewer, seems like absurd exaggeration, but it's the logical conclusion of Alito's opinion. "In fact, slavery itself could conceivably be race-neutral—after all, one does not need to be a racist to seek cheap labor for a profitable business!" www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Really insightful piece on China's command economy: www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
China’s Economy Is Taking Everyone Down
American and Chinese workers are paying a high price for all the cheap goods.
www.theatlantic.com
June 4, 2026 at 6:02 AM
Really insightful piece on China's command economy: www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Brilliant, as usual: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Assassin’s Delusion
Violence serves an authoritarian agenda.
www.theatlantic.com
May 12, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Brilliant, as usual: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Somebody help me out here. If it is unconstitutional to draw congressional districts to encourage minority representation, could it possibly be legal to re-draw existing districts to explicitly discourage (or practically eliminate) minority representation? electionlawblog.org?p=155791
Callais Isn't Over: Louisiana Petitions the Supreme Court to RUSH Sending the Callais Case Back to the Lower Court, So That the State Can Immediately Change the Boundaries for Electing Members of Cong...
This one requires a bit of inside baseball. When the Supreme Court formally issues its decision, it does not send it judgment down to the lower court immediately. Instead, there is a period of 25 days...
electionlawblog.org
April 30, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Somebody help me out here. If it is unconstitutional to draw congressional districts to encourage minority representation, could it possibly be legal to re-draw existing districts to explicitly discourage (or practically eliminate) minority representation? electionlawblog.org?p=155791
Reposted by Terry McDermott
when we mourn le guin, we mourn one of our greatest writers & thinkers. but we also mourn one of our all-time greatest haters
April 28, 2026 at 2:28 PM
when we mourn le guin, we mourn one of our greatest writers & thinkers. but we also mourn one of our all-time greatest haters
Reposted by Terry McDermott
James Joyce supposedly said to a friend that in a day's work he had written only 7 words. And he was still not sure what order they should go in.
April 19, 2026 at 12:26 PM
James Joyce supposedly said to a friend that in a day's work he had written only 7 words. And he was still not sure what order they should go in.
Reposted by Terry McDermott
The matter-of-fact way she asks what investors should do if Trump destroys Iran. Absolutely wild.
"Let's talk about tonight, this deadline that President Trump has set 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization. How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?"
"Let's talk about tonight, this deadline that President Trump has set 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization. How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?"
April 7, 2026 at 5:06 PM
The matter-of-fact way she asks what investors should do if Trump destroys Iran. Absolutely wild.
"Let's talk about tonight, this deadline that President Trump has set 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization. How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?"
"Let's talk about tonight, this deadline that President Trump has set 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization. How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?"
Reposted by Terry McDermott
Let’s support his efforts.
Trying to spend more time on BlueSky. Who do I need to follow to better track US politics, Ukraine and The Middle East/Iran?
Repost for better signal boost?
I’m Tim, I run The Counteroffensive, on Ukraine, and Iran War Dispatches, which launched on Saturday!
www.iranwar.news
Repost for better signal boost?
I’m Tim, I run The Counteroffensive, on Ukraine, and Iran War Dispatches, which launched on Saturday!
www.iranwar.news
Iran War Dispatches with Tim Mak | Substack
A pop-up publication to report on the war in Iran, through the stories of people on the ground. Click to read Iran War Dispatches with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
www.iranwar.news
March 2, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Let’s support his efforts.
Donald Trump, Jeff Epstein and the Politics of Impunity talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/donal...
Donald Trump, Jeff Epstein and the Politics of Impunity
A culture of impunity or at least a culture of elite impunity...
talkingpointsmemo.com
February 23, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Donald Trump, Jeff Epstein and the Politics of Impunity talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/donal...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
On this day in 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court *unanimously* decided that people of South Asian descent could not be American citizens, and retroactively stripped citizenship from many who had already been naturalized. Years of organized persecution followed. www.saada.org/explore/publ...
United States of America vs. Vaishno Das Bagai | SAADA | TIDES Magazine
The Thind decision dealt a devastating blow to all South Asians in the United States, especially those who had become naturalized citizens. It disrupted dreams. It put already vulnerable people at fur...
www.saada.org
February 19, 2026 at 6:12 PM
On this day in 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court *unanimously* decided that people of South Asian descent could not be American citizens, and retroactively stripped citizenship from many who had already been naturalized. Years of organized persecution followed. www.saada.org/explore/publ...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
In 1942, over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry were unjustly incarcerated in America's concentration camps and deprived of their civil rights and due process. Sadly, there is an absolute parallel between what happened then and what’s happening today to immigrant communities throughout the nation.
February 19, 2026 at 5:49 PM
In 1942, over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry were unjustly incarcerated in America's concentration camps and deprived of their civil rights and due process. Sadly, there is an absolute parallel between what happened then and what’s happening today to immigrant communities throughout the nation.
Great explainer on self-driving tech: asteriskmag.com/issues/13/se...
Seeing Like a Sedan—Asterisk
Waymos and Cybercabs see the world through very different sensors. Which technology wins out will determine the future of self-driving vehicles.
asteriskmag.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Great explainer on self-driving tech: asteriskmag.com/issues/13/se...
Reposted by Terry McDermott
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
January 27, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Maybe it's time for Gov. Walz to call out the national guard to protect Minnesotans from ICE
January 17, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Maybe it's time for Gov. Walz to call out the national guard to protect Minnesotans from ICE
I want some of this shit: www.sciencealert.com/new-breakthr...
New Breakthrough to Restore Aging Joints Could Help Treat Osteoarthritis
A study in mice by researchers from Stanford University has traced the loss of cartilage that comes with aging to a single protein, pointing to treatments that may one day restore mobility and ease di...
www.sciencealert.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:57 AM
I want some of this shit: www.sciencealert.com/new-breakthr...